The team at Shopanthropic wishes you and your loved ones a very Happy Holiday season, filled with love and laughter, and a Happy New Year, with the promise of hope and joy!

2017 has been a year of of growth, promising ideas and beautiful ethical fashion! We are excited to continue forging ahead in 2018 – as we help make the world a little kinder and a little more fashionable.

In recent news, high fashion retailer Gucci announced they have plans to discontinue the use of real fur. This grand gesture is not unique, as countless other high fashion labels have already gone ‘vegan’ but it does show a willingness to evolve with consumer preference.

As each brand makes such commitments to change the way they produce and what they sell, the industry will finally follow the direction it needs to. However, is this change happening fast enough?

“A ban by Gucci will make no difference whatsoever to the number of animals farmed for their coats. As for “saving the environment”, the airmiles and travelling involved in photographing ad campaigns for luxury brands, the copious packaging which cocoons their products, the glass and steel and non-environmentally friendly materials used to construct their retail outlets… well I could go on and on, but you get the point…

…When they stop selling over-packaged cosmetics in thick cardboard boxes and paying women in the developing world to produce their diffusion ranges for a pittance – then they can talk about ethics and the environment. High fashion is about producing and selling stuff we don’t really need – so the ideal of less consumption (and less waste) is not going to be a winning philosophy, is it?”

And so, we grapple with a few questions: Is the pace of change enough? What more should retailers and labels be doing? Is it even a realistic goal for such brands to embrace ethical as a way of doing business?

With Halloween just around the corner, retail stores are already filling up with gifting ideas for your loved ones for the holiday season. This is a great time to remind the special people in your lives what they mean to you – whether that be through goods, gestures or words. This is also a good time to think sustainable.

As you pick out the perfect gifts – consider where and how the product has been produced, what materials it is made up of and the impact its disposal will have on the environment. Consider fair trade and sustainable brands to replace fast fashion products. Share the stories behind the brands and products you support.

Think about how you can use your dollar to not only improve the lives of others, but make a sustainable, long-lasting difference. This holiday season we encourage you to shop ethical, shop wisely and enable change everywhere.

“It’s Earth Month. Which, to an eco-lifestyle evangelist like myself is pretty much akin to the premiere ofGame of Thrones. And while many of us want to make a positive impact on the planet, knowing where to start can be tough. Which steps pack the biggest punch? Which habits are the hardest to change? Youmay already knowwhy reducing our trash is key to lessening the very real climate change crisis. I say “our” because this is our collective problem, and thankfully, there are things we all can do to right this wrong.

If you’re not familiar with the “why” of these steps, here are some stunning facts: Americans create about4.3 pounds of trash per person per day(that’s like carrying around a 30+ pound weight each week), a 169% increase from 1960. We can thank many things for this skyrocketing phenomenon: an increased national focus on convenience, busier lives, and the general accessibility of disposable options. And according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), while 75% of our waste is recyclable,only 30% of it actually gets recycled–and recycling requires loads of energy. Fortunately, a few simple shifts can help us reduce the amount of trash we create while still keeping our lives streamlined, efficient, and chic.”

This wasn’t unusual. The company, which aims to make fashion a more sustainable, ethical, and transparent industry, is built largely on comprehensive investigations into the supply chains of different brands, the results of which they share on theironline wiki. Ivanka Trump was an obvious subject in light of boycotts led byGrabYourWallet, which may or may not have causedNordstromandNeiman Marcusto back away from the line. Plus, community users had specifically requested the investigation. The reason it was unusual — enough to warrant a behind-the-scenes look at the investigation process itself — was that they found nothing.

Project Just discovered no code of ethics, no sustainability reports, no human rights policies.

With five researchers working in six countries over the course of a month, and despite contacting spokespeople, sales reps, and brand employees, Project Just discovered no code of ethics, no sustainability reports, no human rights policies. A shipping list pointed tofactories in China and Indonesia, but no factories were at the addresses, and calls to the phone numbers listed went unanswered. The 12-employee business offers paid maternity leave to new mothers, but revealed no policies ensuring fair wages, safe working conditions, or health care to the women working at every other level of manufacturing — despite Ivanka Trump’s emphasis on empowering working women. Project Just uncovered no evidence that the brand (whose manufacturing and distribution is handled by licensing group G-III Apparel) knows anything that goes on within its own supply chain — or, at least, is willing to share what it knows.”

“Hilary Clinton recently expressed her feelings that she‘remain[s] convinced that the future is female.’Yes, it’s wonderful that Ms. Clinton is hopeful that the twenty-first century and beyond will be female and great, but isn’t this hopefulness a slight dampener as there is still a clear underlying tone that, maybe we’re still living in a society that fails to see the greatness of a woman’s power and intelligence? Are we still, I hasten to say, of the perception that women are not quite there yet to stand side by side with men, and that women have had the wool pulled over their eyes for the last century? Interestingly enough Hinduism has prized women since its inception with numerous female goddesses that embody power to its very core.

The Hindu religion is the oldest living religion today; around five thousand years old. It revered animals and humans respectively and even more so, women. Goddesses were worshipped just as much as gods and they were endowed with some of the most prominent powers and energies. Consider how progressive this really was given the time; a time when it was men that represented the powers of the universe.

Three of the most worshipped female deities of Hinduism are: Lakshmi the goddess of wealth and fortune; Kali the goddess that destroys evil forces and Durga the goddess and mother of the universe. Even today, Hindus around the world carry out powerfulpujas(prayers) for all three. I have a strong faith in all three and this faith gives me the confidence and drive to work hard; the positive energies to remove all evils around me and the appreciation of the world around me. It is my admiration of what these three goddesses embody that gives me the strength to take on each day with happiness, ambition, passion, positivity and being proud of being a woman. Even if you’re not a believer, you can appreciate just how amazing these female deities are; they can hold their own in a universe that is unavoidably incomprehensible, they do so much good and wield so much power that you can only be in awe of them. Even if you’re not a believer you can try to identify with their traits and powers and wield these yourself. By us women echoing their very nature, we can ensure that we break those metaphorical glass ceilings and achieve anything and everything.

While Clinton and many prominent females today have rallied women around the globe to project their voices and be heard, remember that the images and scriptures of the Hindu goddesses, have actually been doing this for centuries. We’ve been celebrating the power, intelligence and sanctity of women for so long, it’s only natural and inherent to us. That’s not to say that culturally, things have changed these very ideas and notions, but women are strong enough today as they were centuries ago to demonstrate their extraordinary abilities.”

A common theme we have talked about in this blog is the concept of using purchasing power to make an impact – this is the basis of ethical fashion. Consumers – the ultimate users of fashion goods – have the ability to stand for what they believe in simply by how they spend.

We are witnessing a brilliant example of this concept in the current situation the Ivanka Trump brand finds itself in. With well-known retailers such as Nordstrom and TJ Maxx choosing to drop Ivanka Trump’s line, perhaps the popular vote is finding a new way to express itself. Per an article in The Wall Street Journal, sales of the fashion line declined 32% at Nordstrom in its last fiscal year, despite the fact that the chain’s overall sales rose. It was this sharp decline that resulted in Nordstrom dropping the line. Other stores such as Neiman Marcus, Sears and Kmart have also followed suit.

While the debate rages on in regards to the ethics of White House officials blatantly advocating for the commercial line and the overall motivations behind the decisions to drop the line itself, this is very obviously a conscious consumerism decision.

It is very powerful to see the impact that Tweets, hashtags and the fashionista dollar can have on commerce and society. I, for one, hope that trend continues…

“Pokémon may not be as popular as it was when it launched last year, but there is no denying it has become an icon in the popularity of mobile gaming, quickly becoming the most downloaded app of all time.

Now in 2017, its developer Niantic is asking users in the Swiss city of Davos to turn their attention from chasing Pokémon to understanding the major inequalities in the world.

s part of a new collaboration between Niantic, The Pokémon Company and the charity Project Everyone, 17 new PokéStops – places where you obtain valuable in-game items – have cropped up around Davos.

These 17 PokéStops coincide with the 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development that were agreed upon by 193 world leaders in 2015.

In addition to these new PokéStops, the Congress Centre – where much of the forum is being held – will be turned into a Pokémon Gym.

At these points in the game, a player would train their creatures to perform or battle it out with other human players. The centre will act as a place to train, in between trying to solve some of the world’s most pressing questions.

Finally, as part of the agreement, from spring of this year, additional in-game content will become available to continue to promote the importance of the Global Goals campaign organised by Project Everyone.”

From January 20-23, global leaders, CEOS, governments and senior UN officials will gather in a small mountain town in Switzerland for the 2017 World Economic Forum (WEF). In Davos, these leaders will debate and address the questions and challenges our world faces.

One area where we are keen to see progress is the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are officially known as Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The SDGs are a set of 17 aspirational and global goals:

Source: World Economic Forum

Ahead of their meeting, the WEF released their global risks report, compiling the views of 750 experts,. Within this report, it is documented that climate change and the potential for extreme weather events are among some of the world’s biggest threats.

Unsurprisingly, there will be a session at Davos that will be focused on how public-private partnerships will be able to push the agenda around the SDGs forward. As global economic growth permanently slows down, the conversation around the global economy will also be a key factor in determining how we will be able to achieve the commitments made through the SDGs and the Paris Climate Agreement.

So while the obvious topics focused around Trump, Brexit and China will dominate the media headlines, we will be eagerly awaiting to hear more about what comes out from this topic at Davos.

Share this:

Like this:

The Bay & Harbour Blog

Bay & Harbour is the brainchild of a Toronto-based mother/daughter team with an eye for trend-setting, unique and high-quality fashion & lifestyle products.

The pair is inspired by different cultures, handicraft techniques, discrete designs, and fashion trends from their travels around the world. Bay & Harbour as their outlet to share that love of design with others.

The Bay & Harbour collections feature a variety of accessories & lifestyle products for both men & women.

The co-founders are passionate about fashion with a cause. Many of the Bay & Harbour collections also include pieces that are sustainable and / or ethically made.